Diet Diary - Day 4

April 15, 2002
      .
      Day 4 Friday April 19, 2002 Spa, Gym, Figuring out COBRA

      Cat scratching my bedroom door at 7:30 AM (the cat does not understand Day Light Savings time) got me roused. Faced sink of dirty dishes - did same. Next face pile of mail on floor - need re-search for Unemployment which has not started. Also need to round up COBRA and HIPP junk. Two movies due back to Blockbuster by noon. Would prefer to read and sit in spa, contemplate newly weed-whacked back lawn.
     
      Mixed Medifast and promised myself to behave today. Took all pills and changed the Estrogen patch on my butt.
     
      Took shower - why oh why do I always end up in the shower with the dishwasher, the washing machine or both running? Ran out of shower in the nude to find missing hair conditioner. Fortunately found same near bathroom door. Fortunately kid still asleep. Slicked hair and dressed in sloppy sweats. Kid up when I went to leave, threw meds and a bowl of cereal at him. Albertson's had a sale on Post Honey Bunch cereal - 5 boxes for $10. We will be broke and on the street and have cereal. Took two movies back to blockbuster. Have learned that I do not need to watch everything I rent for the kid. The Connecticut Yankee in me was demanding this but it was eating up my time. I have made progress. Only wince when returning said movies. Make up for this by renting chick flicks for myself on occasion that the kid will never watch.
     
      10:30 AM and have the mail and a slew of missives from UniLab. Why? Hasn't United HealthCare kicked in yet? Do they really need a lawsuit? Grrr! No sign of unemployment.
     
      Missive from State Board of Equalization. Must check on that. They think that if I was in business for a few months (back in 2000) that they can seek out revenue forever. Must alert CPA - need a form maybe? Already yelled (on paper) at City of Fremont. They wanted a late fee for a business license I did not renew in the first place. Geesh! Never renewed with the State either for that matter.
     
      10:30 AM - HUNGRY!
     
      11:00 AM Due for Medifast but on the voice mail phone to State Board of Equalization. Seems I do need to file a form to tell them I no longer exist. I did not file a tax return ($0.00) and they threw a fit. Hmmmm. No logic here. If I did not renew, why do I need a form to disconnect? Turns out - I do. Sent for it via their horrible voice mail loopy thingy.
     
      Bill from COBRA arrived. $1175. (two months, April-May) due in five minutes or less. HIPP still being rounded up - they needed the bill. (Compare this to monthly $6000 GCSF shots refill for my son - reasonable.) This is a catch-22. Printer decided that it now wants toner - after $150 repair bill for fuser. Called HP and they are shipping by tomorrow. Called Wells Fargo and ordered a new credit card since can't read numbers off back of old one due to heavy use. Should have bought the new printer and be damned! Slowing down the HIPP data-gathering mess. New card will let me renew my domain names over the phone - they want that back-of-card number now.
     
      Second Medifast and two sour straws consumed. Mail sorted. Desk cleaned and polished!!!! EGAD! What am I up to? I only "clean" when about to do a new project-----
     
      Unemployment now nearing 30 days since the application. I am watching this. I want unemployment to pay for the health insurance. Makes sense to me. (Have other money to live on. Skimpy but in comfort.) One company has called and I made it through the first wave of resumes. Ho, ho and ho. Shall see where this goes. Job is perfect. How often does that happen?
     
      Found a Sears card I never called the 800 number on. Wonder if I should do that and freak them out? Just for fun.
     
      Making coffee. Still hungry. And tense. And pissed at all the paperwork! HIPP-COBRA-Unemployment! Also looking for stock sale check. Will be living on that for awhile among other things. Notice of stock sale found. Address of Unemployment found. Must go regardless.
     
      1:15PM Something drove me out of the house in sweats (80 degrees outside - air-conditioned inside) and little makeup straight to the unemployment office (8 blocks away - small town is good for something) and - guess what? They have no record in Sacramento of my claim! They can detect that I did not file a use tax on books (didn't owe any) in days but unemployment is evidently beyond them. They owe me six checks from last time! So the EDD office is re-faxing the application attention to the person who was on the phone. It is retroactive - but geez! I deserve a chocolate cookie. Also found email and phone number of United Health Care who is screwing up my son's insurance again. Monday. That is Monday's task.
     
      2:00 PM Found rotting lunchmeat (an instant dog treat) and frankfurters (they are OK - now boiling) and some forgotten cheese. Hunting veggies that haven't succumbed to the dregs of the refrigerator. Wonder what the ---- is going on that I am definitely nesting. Also hungry. Protein + veggies allowed.
     
      Have that nagging headache again. Brain Aneurysm! Must call doctor. Comes on with elevated blood pressure during end of Estrogen progesterone cycle. Watched it for two months. Will end up dead on floor. Positive. Suspect dogs will prefer lunchmeat.
     
      2:30 PM Boiled franks then broiled them with bits of cheese inside (sliced them open first) - love them this way. Sliced bread machine whole wheat and warmed in microwave - slathered in Total Control. Attacked vegetables that had dared grow mold by carving off offensive parts. (Should work for men too.) Planning chicken-veggie thing for late supper. Had small piece of fast-going stale chocolate cake ( not iced). Feel much better. Child does do. Lean Pocket not enough for my 6'1" baby boy.
     
      3:30 PM Found Zinfidel - opened Zinfidel - had 1/2 a glass and watched BBC on digital cable. Hilarious. No movie worth watching. How many channels?
     
      5:00 PM Room temp high. Fans running. Headache. It's the heat and allergies. Debating if Estrogen patch will float off if I get in the spa. (Nothing like a wrinkled up Estrogen patch stuck on your bare foot as you leave the bathroom.) Decide to get in anyway. Must remember to check with the doctor and see if the patch actually registered on the blood test. The pills stopped being absorbed. Next stop would be monthly hip shots. Doctor is 120 mile round-trip. Face still resembles a prune. Especially after floating around in the spa.
     
      6:15 PM Did spa which was suspiciously warm - opened the top and turned down the heat a bit. Loverly. Got out, patted suit a bit dry (in California, a warm day is a dry day - suit dries on body in 15 minutes or less) and fed and watered rabbit, dog. Filled air-dry clean litter pans (two) with fresh litter, removed soiled ones to outside for later dealing with. Make note: close kitchen door so the dust does not float into the house. Floats instead around my legs. Fed and watered cats. Now constant banging of cat head on my legs may calm down. Fed and watered chinchilla.
     
      Son asked if we had lettuce earlier but does not seem inclined to serve himself. Took a quick shower - this does not require that the dishwasher or washing machine be running. Began to assemble raw-type green and other colored veggies for child, who remains in his room killing things on DiabloII.
     
      Still stressed over United Health Care's blatant late payment to providers and continued requests as to which school my son attends. They cannot get the concept that a disabled child stays on the insurance even when they are 20 years old. Management gets it - not the clerks handling the claims. Monday! I remind myself. Relax! I tell myself. Go cook veggies! I order myself. I am not the only person they are messing with.
     
      Note that Rabbit is still here. Why? Because I never called anyone to come and get it. It was a stray I captured and kept beside the last of our rabbits, now deceased. Almost out of rabbit food. This prompts thoughts of finding rabbit a home. A dusky dark one (these are big lops) ran up the front door and away before I got to it. Fed my caged hungry beast stems from Broccoli and Cauliflower as a treat. Note: Chinchilla is molting - refill the dust bin.
     
      7:45 PM Steamed Brocolli and Cauliflower, sliced cucumber, and fried chicken cooked in 2 Tblsp virgin olive oil in $1500 electric Skillet. Air-tight cooker does chicken well. Added barbecue sauce and some low-fat salad dressing. Voila! Fabulous dinner. Kid said vegetables were too soft. What does he know? Covered skillet (leftovers for tomorrow) because big orange cat has been known to stalk the pan and remove a chicken breast while still cooking!
     
      9:00 PM Brain freeze! Kid due pills - almost forgot - rushed 4 out to him. Next dose with the GCSF needle at 11PM. Settled down to TV blitz and maybe get into that boring book I started - maybe not. Need to see about new Regencies. Hard to find. Like them best. Also, don't like books that tire my hand to hold them. Historical novels tend to be overly wordy. CSI on Friday? Bloody one too. Clever cases on that show. I also like mysteries. Probably why I have (packed in a box) about 400 Agatha Christy's that I have read.
     
      Should have Medifast before bedtime. Too full. Also should not eat when full. Interesting that I can now tell when I am not "full" or am "full" - usually just eat. I don't really have a good working mechanism for telling when I am eating to be eating or eating for a reason - like hunger. Hmmm. Need to monitor that. Will rest for now, put food away later. When chilled, I retreat to my bed and a feather down comforter. I gave up sheets. I wrap up in feathers now. Works for me.